Peter J. Solomon hires two food retail investment bankers

(Reuters) - U.S. boutique investment bank Peter J. Solomon Co has hired Scott Moses and Greg Grambling to head its food retail and restaurant investment banking practice, a spokeswoman for the bank said on Tuesday.

Moses and Grambling previously worked at investment bank Sagent Advisors, where Moses led the food retail and restaurants practice and Grambling was a principal in the group. Moses will be a managing director at Peter J. Solomon and Grambling will be a director.

"Scott has built one of the leading food retail M&A advisory practices in the United States, particularly among family-owned grocery operators," Peter J. Solomon founder and chairman Peter J. Solomon and Chief Executive Marc Cooper said in a joint statement.

Moses and Grambling have advised regional supermarkets on their sales to bigger peers, as weak margins fuel grocery consolidation. Last year, they advised Kroger Co on its acquisition of Milwaukee-based Roundy's Supermarket Inc, valued at roughly $800 million, including debt. They also advised Boulder, Colorado-based specialty grocer Lucky's Market in its equity stake sale to Kroger, as well as United Supermarkets on its sale to Albertson's Cos Inc